Today’s the day after becoming addicted to online competition sites over the past 7 months that I finally cannot go on anymore!Â
I have no idea how it came to this. Today I’ve blown another £500 that I didn’t have on a credit card!Â
I just don’t understand why I haven’t been able to stop, I can clearly see the damage I’m doing and keep on doing it….. what’s wrong with me!? I feel so guilty & anxious about how I’m going to repay my debts.
my partner doesn’t know about my problem. I can’t tell him or anyone else, this is something I have to deal with myself.
I’ve lost around £25’000 in 7 months. Savings are all gone & I now have huge debts, which I’ve never had before.
i have a decent job but it’ll take me years to claw this money back. I have 2 young children and can’t stop beating myself up about what this money could’ve done for them.
I’ve also spent £800 of their savings.
Today I called my bank & asked them to stop all future payments to the companies concerned. It’s the first step on a long road and I’m genuinely concerned about the future & how I’ll cope with what I’ve done to myself & my family.Â
It’s so hard,  ask my every day why.  Why waste all that money on trying to win.  And the awful thing is. I’ve won in past then gambled it all away.  You can move on from this.  We have to except that the money is gone .. we are starting from 0.  The only way is to stop now.  Put all the stops in place.  The helpline chat is amazing. It put me on to a counselling program very quickly,  I am 4 weeks in to no gambling. So very raw.  But the relief of waking up every day knowing I didn’t gamble the night before is soo good.  Small steps. I also didn’t tell my husband until last weekend. Oh the shame.  I have lost excactly the same amount as you.  Dealing with that for last year secretly has been horrendous.  I thought I could pay it back.  You Can’t. You need help to do this.  But you have to start from 0 and work your way. Up.  You can do this.  This is a wonderful platform to start.  You’re not alone.  We hate ourselves every minute. But we can get through this.  X
Gambling on credit cards was banned back in 2016 If I remember correctly
So unless you've gone around the mulberry bush to do it you may be able to charge that 500 quid back Â
Rest is long gone and as you acknowledged a long uphill trek working to sort the mess out ( we've all been there )Â
Give it up focus on the present day by dayÂ
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@05ytv7uixg thank you so much. It’s good to hear from someone who is in the same position! I wish you the best of luck! X
@287hzyl0pq thank you. Most of my debt has been wracked up on a credit card! One of my cards (Barclaycard) wouldn’t let me use it on the sites, but another card had no stops in place. I lost £3000 in a day on it once. Took out loans to pay it off & kept maxing out again. I’m back up to the limit now! All on competition websites! I didn’t know if they’re strictly classed as gambling, because you have to answer a very simple question to enter the class themselves as ‘skill based competition sites’? So I’m presuming maybe they’re exempt from the laws - although clearly recognised by Barclaycard!
Am really sorry to hear what u are going through, however with the right support and blocks in place things can improve for u when i started using this site my turning point was when i took £5000 loan out and lost it all in one night was my turning point as it something i never did since gambling from around 2006 this was exactly 492 days ago i decided enough was enough and i wanted to change i got myself on here and since been regularly using that chatrooms and ready the forum i realised i am not alone and many people are suffering with this illness, i have learnt alot coming on here and im just 1 bet away from a disaster however just spending sometime on here is all it taken to keep me away, the first few weeks were very tough as i was most vulnerable however not only my life 100% better i appreciate each day without gambling, their is light at the end i appreciate the few regulars who keep pushing me forward to stay clean as it the only place which values each day you go without gambling if i do slip am fully aware the helpful people would help me get back onto my feet so their no pressure, ive learnt to be honest with myself and if what ever happens in the future i know their people on here who keep me on the right track
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